I seemed to have been real lazy on this for a while. Life, Work and a few other things have been going on, but maybe that has just been an excuse.
Anyways.......
It is now approx 52 weeks until the Commonwealth Powerlifting Champs in Auckland, New Zealand in December 2013, So i have a lot of work to do.
Monday,
Safety bar squats for my main power exercise today with the No# 1 and 2 bands over the bar. Thought the tension would be about 60kg but it turned out to be 100kg. Went up to 185kg on the bar (bar weighs 25kg) and with the added tension of the bands a total of 280kg at the top. Probably 220 -230kg at the bottom of the rep so weight all the way round. Had my Squat Suit on but straps down and knee wraps as well. It felt like I was fighting the suit all day today as I was having real problems getting down to parallel, Speed on the way up was not a problem. Feet could have been a little wider. Tough day but if I want big numbers next year then I am just going to have to live with it. I know some days are going to be good and some days are not going to be good so I just have to accept it. 3 Sets of 2 Reps @ 280/220 (top of rep over bottom of the rep)
On to the rest of my workout for today of Bentover rows, Cable rows and Dumbbell rows to help build up my back. Again have to change my attitude to everything as I know I can be a lot stronger in my back which is not only going to help my Squatting and Deadlifting but will also help with driving power though my benchpress. Finished off with some green band axe swings to help strengthen up my Obliques. Notice the other week that I was shaking to much though my mid section so will have to strengthen them up.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Deadlifts
Today was deadlift day and during this cycle I am doing high bar Trap bar deadlifts. Went in get these done thinking I might go to about 280kg for a couple, However warm up was going real well with triples so I just kept at it all the way though. My thoughts were if it is going well then I will keep at it and the dangerous " I feel strong at the moment so lets go for it". My warmups were 80 x 3, 130 x 3, 170 x 3, 210 x 3, 250 x 3 and then on to 280 x 3 for 2 sets and I still felt real good so after the second set of 280 I thought what the hell lets go for it and put on 300kg. My thought was I hope to get the first rep then just whatever after that. I got the first one out then just thought what the hell go for it and had a go at a second thinking at worst it doesn't go and I put it down but it just kept coming so I was lucky enough to get a 2nd rep out. Not to bad for a PB attempt, However what do I now do next week which is the final week of this cycle. Hmmmm. Here is some photo's of the last set.
From there I went on to Log shoulder press like last week except this week I started with the 5kg plates on the bar. First set felt like shit and I felt like I had no power. However before the second set I got my head into it a bit more and added the 10kg plates on to the log. A lot better set and it felt good as well. On the last set I added the 5kg plates back on to the log to make and all up weight of 85/86kg. 6 good reps later I was finished.
Then went on to bentover lat raise for my rear delts. I am one of these people who lower the weight on this exercise under control and don't just drop it back to the start so the amount of weight I use is not a lot but my rear delts get a great workout. 3 sets of 10 reps @ 15kg was all I needed. on the second set instead of bringing the weight up the normal way people do I pronated my hands so the palms were facing backwards while the rep went out to the sides. Different movement and a different feel. Good to use for a change and if done right I feel it targets the rear delts a little better. Just my thoughts.
Anyway I feel good at the moment and hope to get in and start doing some speed work as I really need it.
From there I went on to Log shoulder press like last week except this week I started with the 5kg plates on the bar. First set felt like shit and I felt like I had no power. However before the second set I got my head into it a bit more and added the 10kg plates on to the log. A lot better set and it felt good as well. On the last set I added the 5kg plates back on to the log to make and all up weight of 85/86kg. 6 good reps later I was finished.
Then went on to bentover lat raise for my rear delts. I am one of these people who lower the weight on this exercise under control and don't just drop it back to the start so the amount of weight I use is not a lot but my rear delts get a great workout. 3 sets of 10 reps @ 15kg was all I needed. on the second set instead of bringing the weight up the normal way people do I pronated my hands so the palms were facing backwards while the rep went out to the sides. Different movement and a different feel. Good to use for a change and if done right I feel it targets the rear delts a little better. Just my thoughts.
Anyway I feel good at the moment and hope to get in and start doing some speed work as I really need it.
Benchpress Day
Yeeeyyy, Got in on the right day for Benchpress again. Second week of this cycle.
Benching went well today although I am still a little slower off the chest than I want to be. Using the No# 2 bands again this week. The first set @ 185kg for a couple of reps went well and felt good off my chest. I was able to keep my elbows tucked in tight which gave me a good press.
The second set was @ 205kg for a couple of reps. Again a good set up and good press for the first rep, got the second down with control and part of the way up then needed just a small help to finish off the top. Still happy with how it went.
3 set was @ 215kg, got the second rep down and part way up then needed a bit of a hand to the top. On the second rep did a full negative and part of the way up again before needing a hand to finish the top of the rep. Not entirely happy with the second rep but I need to push myself a bit. Not every rep can be perfect but it is a start.
Benching went well today although I am still a little slower off the chest than I want to be. Using the No# 2 bands again this week. The first set @ 185kg for a couple of reps went well and felt good off my chest. I was able to keep my elbows tucked in tight which gave me a good press.
The second set was @ 205kg for a couple of reps. Again a good set up and good press for the first rep, got the second down with control and part of the way up then needed just a small help to finish off the top. Still happy with how it went.
3 set was @ 215kg, got the second rep down and part way up then needed a bit of a hand to the top. On the second rep did a full negative and part of the way up again before needing a hand to finish the top of the rep. Not entirely happy with the second rep but I need to push myself a bit. Not every rep can be perfect but it is a start.
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| 215kg Set and ready to go |
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Hey a post on the right day
Mondays are Squat days or something similar so as this is the second week of the cycle it means doing Safety bar squats with the No# 1 bands over the bar. After last week I was expecting this to be a lot harder than it turned out to be. I think a better mindset and the advantage of another week made a big difference. Felt a lot stronger and got out some good reps. 3 sets of 3 reps @ 170kg with 40kg of tension from the bands at the top. Here is a picture of the set up.
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| Safety bar squats set up with No# 1 bands
Also did some Zercher squats after the Safety bar squats. I am using the Zercher squat harness I helped develop with Kevin from getstrength.com. I find this works well and saves me from destroying my elbows. Again this week i have gone up in weight and felt these were some real good reps. I also find that by standing a bit wider I get a better workout from my butt. Also you must try and get to a least parallel as you will get so much more out of the exercise. Good control on the way down with reasonable speed on the way up. 3 sets of 6 reps @ 120kg. Also got some pics of this as well.
 
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Monday, October 8, 2012
A normal week would be nice
Ohh to have a normal week for a change. I have been able to get in all the training this week but just not quite in the way I wanted. I got in the Squat workout on Tuesday with some Safety bar squats for 3 sets of 3 reps at 160 plus the No# 1 bands over the bar which is about and extra 40kg. I also used knee wraps for the first time since somewhere in July so that felt a little different but also so good. Felt a little slow on the way up but the rest of it was good. It is good to be able to change type of exercise with some of the different relevant. Will keep this for the next couple weeks adding a bit more weight each week. Hope to add in some speed work soon as I feel I am missing out there for the being able to have some good speed with the reps.
Benchpress on Wednesday was okay as it was time to put on some more real weight. Wanted to use my No# 3 over my elbows a bit like a Titan Ram or Mark Bells Slingshot, but could not find them so used 2 No# 2 bands over the elbows. 3 sets of 2 reps with 1 set of 180kg with a stop on the bottom, second set of 2 reps at 200kg with a stop and a third set of 2 reps at 210kg with a stop. The first 2 sets were real good and had some good power to them but the last set could have been left at 200kg. Still happy with how it went and it shore felt good to have that much weight in my hands again.
Deadlifts on Friday went well. I was using the high bar on the trap bar so it worked a bit like having a 3" board under the weights which is perfect for where I am at in my training at this stage. I was able to get my 3 sets out with reasonable amount of weight. I do singles on deadlift day and got out 250kg (the trap bar weighs 30kg) for 3 singles. Good speed off the floor and a strong lockout already. Happy with this and again to be to have some heavy weight in my hands again felt good. Got a couple of photo's of the setup I had with the trap bar.
Also did some shoulder presses with something different. I used the strongman log to the front for a different way of doing things. 3 sets of 6 reps with the log weighing 56kg then I added 5kg a side for the 2nd set and 10kg a side for the 3rd set. Felt good and liked the variation. Got some pics as well.
Also tried a different exercise for my shoulder using the buffalo bar. As this bar hangs a lot lower and is a lot fatter it also swings during the rep a lot more. I am hoping over time this will help strengthen and stabilize my shoulders which in turn will help me have a cleaner press on the bench. Got some pics of this with some light weight. I will increase the weight next time but as this was the first time I have done this I didn't want to go over board. The reps are done behind the neck.
Benchpress on Wednesday was okay as it was time to put on some more real weight. Wanted to use my No# 3 over my elbows a bit like a Titan Ram or Mark Bells Slingshot, but could not find them so used 2 No# 2 bands over the elbows. 3 sets of 2 reps with 1 set of 180kg with a stop on the bottom, second set of 2 reps at 200kg with a stop and a third set of 2 reps at 210kg with a stop. The first 2 sets were real good and had some good power to them but the last set could have been left at 200kg. Still happy with how it went and it shore felt good to have that much weight in my hands again.
Deadlifts on Friday went well. I was using the high bar on the trap bar so it worked a bit like having a 3" board under the weights which is perfect for where I am at in my training at this stage. I was able to get my 3 sets out with reasonable amount of weight. I do singles on deadlift day and got out 250kg (the trap bar weighs 30kg) for 3 singles. Good speed off the floor and a strong lockout already. Happy with this and again to be to have some heavy weight in my hands again felt good. Got a couple of photo's of the setup I had with the trap bar.
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| Last warm up weight 230kg. Trap bar weighs 30kg |
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| My workout weight this week of 250kg. 3 singles |
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| Set 1 56kg |
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| Set 2 56kg + 10 |
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| Set 3 56kg + 20kg |
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| Buffalo bar shoulder press with 10kg xtra weight. |
Thursday, September 27, 2012
What a screwed up week it has been
It has been a screwed up week for me and things have been done a little on a when I can get it done basis. So you are going to get a few days in one go.
Deadlifts last week went real well and I am now starting to feel like I need to lift some real heavy shit as they say. Speed off the ground and a strong finish at the moment and all this while I am lifting SUMO style. I normally lift with a normal stance, however since the weight is light I have been using the sumo to help strengthen up abductors and pelvic area. Started doing this last year and it helped my overall stability a lot. 3 sets of 3 reps @ 160kg
Shoulder press @ 60kg is again starting to get to light and they weight will need to go up. Strong press.
Pronated press, again weight is starting to get light and the reps are coming easily. 3 x 8 @ 35kg
Bentover lat raise, As above 3 x 10 @ 15kg with good control and speed on the downward part of this exercise. I do not believe in dropping the weight on this exercise.
Squats: Last week of the cycle. Good to be able to get out wide and stable to squat. A little slow on the way up but not to worried as I could feel my butt working hard. Other than my OLY shoes on all the reps for the last few weeks have been RAW. No belts, knee wraps or anything like that. 3 x2 @ 200kg. Next week on to a new exercise, Safety bar squats with the number 1 bands over the bar.
Front squats: 3 x 6 @ 140kg which felt good and I was able to use the 3 feet positions of narrow, medium and wide. Felt good and this was the first time I have enjoyed this exercise for a while. On to Zercher squats next week for a cycle.
Bent over rows: Felt good and strong on these and was able to get the reps out well even though they were only about 20kg behind my PB. Good control on the down part of the exercise. As I have said I do not like to drop weight when doing these sorts of things.
Benchpress: went in yesterday to see how I would go and I have to admit my benching went a lot better than it has over the last couple of weeks. My spotter was saying there was good speed off my chest and that reps looked a lot stronger and with more power. With the different bench here I am able to get my chest up more and I feel I am getting a better press overall. 2 x 2 @ 150kg and 1 x 3 @ 150kg. There is a IPF stop on the first rep always and on the last set of 3, I put in a stop on the first and third reps. Again raw as I have only been using my wrist wraps.
Incline benchpress was quite easy today with 3 sets of 6 reps @ 90kg, Will change to something else from next week on.
Close grip benchpress went well again this week as it has been doing over the last few weeks. Good power and speed off my chest and I have been able to lockout strong over the last few weeks as well. 3 x 6 @ 120kg.
Flat back dumbbells. have been getting some good results from these in this cycle and am already back up to within 5kg of a PB already. Helps when you are pain free in the elbow area. 3 x 8 @ 32.5kg
Tricep pressdowns. Good finisher for the day as I can concentrate on these and get a good feel of things.
3 x 10 @ 100.110.120 pounds.
Deadlifts last week went real well and I am now starting to feel like I need to lift some real heavy shit as they say. Speed off the ground and a strong finish at the moment and all this while I am lifting SUMO style. I normally lift with a normal stance, however since the weight is light I have been using the sumo to help strengthen up abductors and pelvic area. Started doing this last year and it helped my overall stability a lot. 3 sets of 3 reps @ 160kg
Shoulder press @ 60kg is again starting to get to light and they weight will need to go up. Strong press.
Pronated press, again weight is starting to get light and the reps are coming easily. 3 x 8 @ 35kg
Bentover lat raise, As above 3 x 10 @ 15kg with good control and speed on the downward part of this exercise. I do not believe in dropping the weight on this exercise.
Squats: Last week of the cycle. Good to be able to get out wide and stable to squat. A little slow on the way up but not to worried as I could feel my butt working hard. Other than my OLY shoes on all the reps for the last few weeks have been RAW. No belts, knee wraps or anything like that. 3 x2 @ 200kg. Next week on to a new exercise, Safety bar squats with the number 1 bands over the bar.
Front squats: 3 x 6 @ 140kg which felt good and I was able to use the 3 feet positions of narrow, medium and wide. Felt good and this was the first time I have enjoyed this exercise for a while. On to Zercher squats next week for a cycle.
Bent over rows: Felt good and strong on these and was able to get the reps out well even though they were only about 20kg behind my PB. Good control on the down part of the exercise. As I have said I do not like to drop weight when doing these sorts of things.
Benchpress: went in yesterday to see how I would go and I have to admit my benching went a lot better than it has over the last couple of weeks. My spotter was saying there was good speed off my chest and that reps looked a lot stronger and with more power. With the different bench here I am able to get my chest up more and I feel I am getting a better press overall. 2 x 2 @ 150kg and 1 x 3 @ 150kg. There is a IPF stop on the first rep always and on the last set of 3, I put in a stop on the first and third reps. Again raw as I have only been using my wrist wraps.
Incline benchpress was quite easy today with 3 sets of 6 reps @ 90kg, Will change to something else from next week on.
Close grip benchpress went well again this week as it has been doing over the last few weeks. Good power and speed off my chest and I have been able to lockout strong over the last few weeks as well. 3 x 6 @ 120kg.
Flat back dumbbells. have been getting some good results from these in this cycle and am already back up to within 5kg of a PB already. Helps when you are pain free in the elbow area. 3 x 8 @ 32.5kg
Tricep pressdowns. Good finisher for the day as I can concentrate on these and get a good feel of things.
3 x 10 @ 100.110.120 pounds.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Benchpresses
Got in to do benchpress today which went well.
Although the speed of the press was a little slow on the way out the reps were good and it felt good to have that sort of weight in my hands again. I will have to get in to do more speed work as this is what is slowing me down. Set up was good and I was pretty stable. 3 sets of 3 reps @ 140kg with a stop on my chest. all done raw except I use wrist wraps to protect my wrist when I am benching.
Incline benchpress: Found a new moving bench and put it in the power rack (we have 6 of them) tonight as it sets me up a lot better than what they have there. Felt strong off my chest today and I was able to set a lot better because of the different seating position. Was able to get my wrists and elbows/shoulders under the bar better so that ended in better presses. 3 sets of 6 @ 80kg.
Close grip Benchpress: Again these are going a lot better than I thought they would be at this stage. I am getting a good tuck on the elbows on the descent and a pretty decent return. Because I am using the suicide grip I am feeling a lot better and stronger contraction from the Triceps at the top of the press. Good control and I am touching my chest with ease at the moment. I have struggled with that part at times. 3 sets of 6 reps @ 100kg.
Flat back Dumbbell press: back up to the 30kg dumbbell already so I am pretty happy with that at this stage especially as this is only about 5-7.5kg lighter than what I had been doing. Working real hard at keeping my elbows tuck in so I can feel more on them during each rep. 3 sets of 8 reps @ 30kg.
Although the speed of the press was a little slow on the way out the reps were good and it felt good to have that sort of weight in my hands again. I will have to get in to do more speed work as this is what is slowing me down. Set up was good and I was pretty stable. 3 sets of 3 reps @ 140kg with a stop on my chest. all done raw except I use wrist wraps to protect my wrist when I am benching.
Incline benchpress: Found a new moving bench and put it in the power rack (we have 6 of them) tonight as it sets me up a lot better than what they have there. Felt strong off my chest today and I was able to set a lot better because of the different seating position. Was able to get my wrists and elbows/shoulders under the bar better so that ended in better presses. 3 sets of 6 @ 80kg.
Close grip Benchpress: Again these are going a lot better than I thought they would be at this stage. I am getting a good tuck on the elbows on the descent and a pretty decent return. Because I am using the suicide grip I am feeling a lot better and stronger contraction from the Triceps at the top of the press. Good control and I am touching my chest with ease at the moment. I have struggled with that part at times. 3 sets of 6 reps @ 100kg.
Flat back Dumbbell press: back up to the 30kg dumbbell already so I am pretty happy with that at this stage especially as this is only about 5-7.5kg lighter than what I had been doing. Working real hard at keeping my elbows tuck in so I can feel more on them during each rep. 3 sets of 8 reps @ 30kg.
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